![]() | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Date | January 14, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Jake Scott, safety | ||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Dolphins by 1[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Tom Bell | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 90,182[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
Hall of Famers | |||||||||||||||||||
Dolphins: Don Shula (head coach), Bobby Beathard (personnel administrator), Nick Buoniconti, Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little, Paul Warfield Redskins: George Allen (head coach), Chris Hanburger, Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor | |||||||||||||||||||
Ceremonies | |||||||||||||||||||
National anthem | Little Angels of Holy Angels Church, Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||
Coin toss | Tom Bell | ||||||||||||||||||
Halftime show | Woody Herman, Andy Williams and the Michigan Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||
TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis, and Bill Enis | ||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 42.7 (est. 53.32 million viewers)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
Market share | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||
Cost of 30-second commercial | $88,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | NBC Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Jim Simpson and Kyle Rote | ||||||||||||||||||
Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1972 season. The Dolphins defeated the Redskins by the score of 14–7, winning their first Super Bowl, and became the first and still the only team in modern NFL history to complete a perfect undefeated season.[4] They also remain the only Super Bowl champion to win despite having been shut out in the second half of the game. The game was played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, the second time the Super Bowl was played in that city. At kickoff, the temperature was 84 °F (29 °C), making the game the warmest Super Bowl.[5]
This was the Dolphins' second Super Bowl appearance; they had lost Super Bowl VI to Dallas the previous year. The Dolphins posted an undefeated 14–0 regular season record before defeating the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Redskins were making what would be the first of five Super Bowl appearances in a 20-year period, after posting an 11–3 regular season record and playoff victories over the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys.[6] Despite being undefeated, the Dolphins were actually one-point underdogs,[7] largely based on the weakness of their regular season schedule (and losing the previous Super Bowl).[8]
Super Bowl VII was largely dominated by the Dolphins, and is the second-lowest-scoring Super Bowl to date with a total of only 21 points (three touchdowns and three extra points), behind only the 13–3 score of Super Bowl LIII. The only real drama occurred during the final minutes of the game, in what was later known as "Garo's Gaffe".[9] Miami attempted to cap their 17–0 perfect season with a 17–0 shutout by means of a 42-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian,[10] but instead the game and the season was jeopardized when his kick was blocked. Instead of falling on the loose ball, the Dolphins kicker picked it up, attempted a forward pass, but batted it in the air, and Redskins cornerback Mike Bass (who was Yepremian's former teammate on the Detroit Lions years earlier) caught it and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. This remains the longest period in a Super Bowl for one team to be shut out, as Washington was held scoreless until 2:07 remained in the fourth quarter.[note 1] Because of the turnover and score, what was a Miami-dominated game became close, and the Dolphins had to stop Washington's final drive for the tying touchdown as time expired.
Dolphins safety Jake Scott was named Most Valuable Player. He recorded two interceptions for 63 return yards, including a 55-yard return from the end zone during the fourth quarter. Scott became the second defensive player in Super Bowl history (after linebacker Chuck Howley in Super Bowl V) to earn a Super Bowl MVP award.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Cite error: There are <ref group=note>
tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}}
template (see the help page).